Taiwan News Quick Take

Staff Writer, with CNA

Mon, Dec 12, 2011 - Page 2

SEA RESCUE

Ship sinks off Philippines

Four of five crewmembers working on a Taiwan--registered fishing boat were rescued as it sank off the northwest coast of the Philippines early yesterday. The Chen Fa Tsai’s Taiwanese skipper and first mate and two Indonesian crewmembers were rescued by another Taiwan--registered fishing boat at about 7am before the vessel sank, Taiwan’s representative office in Manila said. The ship’s other Indonesian crewmember remained missing, and Philippine coast guard officials were still searching for him, the office said early yesterday afternoon. The rescued crewmembers are now on their way back to Taiwan. The office said it first received notification from the Coast Guard Administration at about 11:50pm on Saturday.

ENVIRONMENT

Smartphones aid clean up

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has developed a system for reporting dirty public places to the local government’s cleaning squads directly through smartphones. Using the GPS, photographic and Internet features of smartphones, the system allows members of the public to upload images of trash, pet excrement and other messy areas, with the location and time automatically recorded. The EPA said the system would focus on smartphones with the Android operating system, which currently has the largest market share in Taiwan.

FOOD & DRINK

Bubble tea ranked 25th

A poll by CNN travel Web site CNNGo.com of the top 50 drinks in the world has ranked Taiwanese bubble tea No. 25. The list, unveiled on Saturday, was topped by plain water, Coca-Cola and Ethiopian coffee. Bubble tea drew attention for its variety and the popular chewy “pearls” made of tapioca. “More bubble than tea, this is a tea-slash-milk-slash-fruit drink and its most famous variety includes chewy ‘pearls,’ resembling oversized frogspawn, at the bottom that you suck up with an oversized straw,” CNN said of the drink. “It sounds weird, but it has become a favorite drink snack among Asia’s millions of young shoppers.” Water was chosen as the No. 1 drink because “as the base of every other drink on this list, of every food in the world and indeed of all life, nothing beats a glass of pure, unsullied water for its thirst-quenching, revitalizing, life-giving properties.”

SOCIETY

Cross-strait tea final held

The final of an inaugural cross-strait tea competition took place in Chiayi yesterday, where some of the Taiwan’s best tea is grown. Based on the evaluation of five judges — two from China and three from Taiwan — Taiwan had the best showing in varieties of tea in final of the high-mountain tea category, which focuses on teas grown in areas at altitudes of more than 1,000m. However, Chinese varieties dominated the tieguanyin category. Tieguanyin is a type of Oolong tea. Organized by two tea associations from Alishan in Taiwan and Xiamen in China, the winter tea final came after two preliminary rounds were held in the two countries on Dec. 1. It also marked the first time that China-grown tea leaves have competed in Taiwan. The competition was part of Chiayi County’s efforts to promote Alishan tea in China, where it is already a popular Taiwanese product, the Chiayi County Government said.